A Small Act Of Disobedience
by Keysha
Summary: A short little piece I did based on Daxter's feelings from the moment he fell into the dark eco to the end of the opening cut scene. Please R&R!


Well, this came from a need to write a short Jak and Daxter fic (as in only one chapter long). I just thought it would be interesting to write about Daxter's feelings from the moment he fell into the dark eco, to the end of the opening cut scene - when he and Jak go through the warp gate. I'm sorry if some of the quotes are inaccurate. It's been a while since I played the game. I have the game, just no PS2 of my own. But come Xmas (smiles wickedly) NOTHING but the sound of Daxter's voice will be echoing from my bedroom. And that's NOT because I'm watching 'The Little Mermaid 2' (Yeppers, the only reason I LIKE that movie is because Max Casella does Tip's voice.)  
  
Anyways, I've added a few little 'extra' scenes. Mainly the time between Misty Island and Samos's hut. And pretty much all of the dialog and DEFINATLY all the characters are copyright to Naughty Dog. Those guys (and the few girls in the kennel) rock da house!  
  
So yeah, please R&R. This fic does NOT delay the last two chapters of my 'White City' Jak and Daxter fic. Then next chapter will be up soon too. Promise! So now, without further delay, I give you another one of my Daxter related fics! Cheers folks!  
  
~ Keysha  
  
***  
  
*A Small Act Of Disobedience*  
  
There was a loud explosion, and the once potential threat of a bone lurker disappeared in a flash, but Daxter barley saw any of this. The force of the explosion had sent Jak flying into him, which in turn, had knocked Daxter backwards, right into the pool of 'dark ooze'.  
  
Daxter hit the gunk and sank beneath it quickly. All he felt was a terrible stinging sensation ripple through his body. He dared not open his eyes as he tried to force his way to the surface. It felt like his spine was stretching a great deal, and his skin tingled all over. Then, as if his prayers of freedom were answered, Daxter was propelled out of the sludge. He hit the ground hard and flipped over, eventually resting on his back.  
  
'I'm gonna KILL Jak!' Was all he could think of, wearily sitting himself up and shaking his head. "Man that STUNG!" He grumbled loudly, trying to point out to Jak that he was NOT in a good mood. He lowered his eyebrows as he felt Jak staring hard at his back. Daxter jumped to his feet, turned and stomped over to his friend. 'Is it just me, or has he grown in the past few seconds?' He thought. But Daxter was more concerned on other matters, like HOW he was going to throttle Jak.  
  
"I TOLD YOU we shouldn't have come here! And you listened!" Daxter yelled angrily, trying to keep his volume high and his voice angry, but it was pretty hard when his best friend was staring at him as if he were a huge pile of Precursor orbs glowing before his eyes. His jaw hung loose, and his eyes were wide in shock. This just angered Daxter more, as Jak obviously wasn't paying attention.  
  
"WHAT?" He grumbled, not in the mood for one of Jak's games. Especially when he was in the middle of giving him a verbal beating. But then, something caught his attention. It was just a breeze, nothing out of the ordinary, but it caused the hair on his arm to ripple. The only strange thing was, Daxter never remembered the breeze feeling THAT strange. He lifted his hand, and his voice was lost as it had somehow managed to wedge itself into his throat and could no longer move.  
  
Daxter gazed down at his hand with dilute pupils. Or at least, it USED to be a hand. His heart raced as he gazed down at five orange fingers, attached to a furry paw. He wiggled them slightly. Yes, they were DEFINALTY his! His lip quivered as the fact slowly crept its way into Daxter's mind. He was no longer the boy he used to be.  
  
Daxter's mind raced. What could have POSSIABLY become of him? It MUST have been that dark ooze. But how could a pool of black sludge change his hand like this? Daxter had no idea what to say, so instead he opened his mouth wide and screamed his lungs out.  
  
Jak cringed, covering his ears as his little buddy, now even littler than before, fell onto the ground and pounded at the earth, sending dust flying everywhere.  
  
"Okay!" Daxter gasped for air as he shakily stood up again. "I'm fine!" He insisted, catching his breath. At least he had gotten THAT out of his system. "I'm fine!" He repeated again, just to assure himself. He clutched at his now furry chest, trying to encourage his heart to stop racing at 120 miles an hour. In doing so, he couldn't help but look down, and what he saw was worse than the sight of his furry paw. His once fleshy feet were now thick, strong, padded paws. Three large toes had replaced the five small ones he once had. And each of these furry toes produced a short, sharp black claw. What was worse was the long orange tail that extended out of his spine, twitching back and forth as if it had always been there. This was NOT a sight to calm him down, and once again, Daxter wanted to yell. He jumped up at Jak, grabbed his collar, and tilting his head back, screamed for all he was worth. He was so loud, his voice echoed all over Misty Island and beyond.  
  
Jak cringed. In the distance, he could hear more of those creatures approaching, attracted to the vast amount of noise Daxter was making. What had Samos called them once? Lurkers? Jak didn't want to hang around and ask THEM that's for sure. Then again, he DID also have the additional problem of his best friend, now some kind of skinny, furry thing, blubbering in front of him. No time to worry about that though!  
  
Jak reached out and grabbed the fuzzy critter by the waist. This did not help Daxter, who was still not used to being so little. He tensed up at first, but then began to struggle as Jak raced back to the boat as fast as he could.  
  
"Let me go Jak! Let me GO!" He insisted, trying to pry his friend's now overly large fingers from around his waist. Or was that his stomach? Daxter just couldn't tell. Jak finally gave into his friend's pleas, and threw the furball over his shoulder, onto the metal plate that he wore. At least Daxter had something to hold onto. Besides, his new claws were starting to dig into his hands, and it was making the race back to the boat quite uncomfortable for Jak.  
  
Finally, he reached the dock, and making a flying leap, landed in the boat and switched on the engine, making a hasty get away. Daxter slid down from Jak's shoulder, still shaking and scared stiff. So much had happened in such a short time, and NONE of it was any good. As he gazed down at his furry body, Jak bent down to get a closer inspection of his friend. Well, he certainly looked NOTHING like his best friend, but if you looked closely, you could slightly make out the Daxter he once knew. Jak reached out towards the furball beside him, and lightly touched the fur on his back. Daxter reeled around and glared at Jak.  
  
"This is all YOUR fault!" He growled. "Samos told us NOT to go to Misty Island, and what do you do? Hijack the Fisherman's boat and jet it over to Misty Island! And what's worse, you dragged ME along for the ride! Now look at me!" Daxter held out his arms as Jak looked on at his friend's new physique. He looked somewhat like a cross between an otter and a weasel, but Jak couldn't be sure. Daxter growled.  
  
"Because of YOU, I now look like a walking ball of FUZZ!"  
  
Jak turned away. He was no longer able to take his fuzzy friend's verbal abuse. Meanwhile Daxter had taken to leaning over the side of the boat. His fur slicked to one side in the breeze as he gazed down at his new reflection in the water's rippling surface. He frowned as he looked upon a fuzzy face, tiny black nose and long, furry ears with rounded tips, which fluttered helplessly in the breeze. His eyes were a lot larger now too, and for the first time, Daxter started to become in tune with his heightened senses. Better hearing, a larger area of vision, and not to mention a much better sense of smell. Although Daxter just KNEW that it was going to become a disadvantage, especially when half the village population had a sever case of gum problems and morning breath. Daxter examined his teeth, now perfectly straight. His bad overbite was now gone, but that was hardly a good point in his point of view. If anything, Daxter would have LOVED to have his buckteeth back in favor of being his old self again.  
  
The boat slowly came to a stop at the dock in Sandover Village. Jak hopped out, and encouraged his furry friend to do the same. Daxter looked at his angrily.  
  
"What are we doing NOW?" He growled. "Going to the forbidden temple to find out what's INSIDE? Trust me Jak, they don't call it FORBIDDEN for nothing!"  
  
Jak just shook his head and indicated to the hut at the end of the village. It belonged to Samos, the sage. Of all things precursor like, NO ONE knew better than him. If anyone had ANY idea how to turn Daxter back, Samos would be the guy. Daxter grinned at his friend.  
  
"Ah, go ask old green stuff? Now I got ya!"  
  
Jak smiled nervously. It was good that Daxter was now talking to him again. So maybe he HAD gotten his friend into a world of trouble, but at least he was trying to set things right again, and Daxter understood this. Well, sort of anyway.  
  
***  
  
Daxter's heart hammered as they reached the doorstep of Samos's hut. It was early morning, and the Sage was probably still asleep. Indeed, they discovered that he WAS asleep, or perhaps he was just meditating. In any case, when someone is hovering in mid-air, with their eyes closed and their breathing focused, that's usually a good sign that they want to be left alone. But the boys ignored this clear sign and entered into Samo's hut anyway. As Daxter took a step forward, his now overly large paw landed on a rather squeaky board that creaked loudly under his diminutive ottsel weight. This was all it took to release the old sage from his rest.  
  
"What in GREEN tarnation are YOU two doing here?" He bellowed, turning around and glaring.  
  
Daxter saw this as a clear indication that the sage was not happy, and half hid behind Jak.  
  
"I was, He was, we was!' The ottsel stuttered, trying to come out with a quick explanation, but Samos interrupted.  
  
"Don't TELL me!" He grumbled, dropping onto the ground from his hovering position. "Instead of heeding my advice, you two went MUCKING around in the only place I told you NOT to go! Misty Island!" The sage pointed out the window towards the heebie-jeebie inducing island to emphasize his point.  
  
"That's RIGHT!" Daxter agreed, he seemed very undisturbed that Samos seemed to know what had been going on. "And then!" The ottsel began, but he was rudely cut off by Samos. He cringed as the Sage towered over him. Now even the old guy was bigger than him.  
  
"AND Daxter. I see you've finally taken a bath, but in a bathtub FILLED with DARK ECO!" The sage twiddled his fingers when he uttered the dreaded words.  
  
'So THAT'S what that stuff was.' Daxter thought, but he was growing impatient, and was not in the mood for the old man's lame attempt at a joke. "LOOK OLD MAN!" He yelled, throwing his head into his paws. "Are you gonna keep YAPPING, or are you gonna HELP ME OUTTA THIS MESS!" He glared at the old man above him, but he was beginning to become worried. What if Samos DIDN'T know what to do?  
  
"I'M GONNA KEEP YAPPING!" Samos shot back. Daxter cringed again, so the old man STILL wasn't over his insults and bad jokes. Crud. "Because in my PROFFESIONAL opinion, the change is an IMPROVEMT!" Samos continued. NOW Daxter was mad. He glared back at Samos, placing a furry paw on his hip and growling. GROWLING? He'd never done THAT before. Well, he'd never growled like an animal at least, THAT'S for sure! Daxter was so annoyed that he barley heard Samo's next words, which sent a small chill down his spine.  
  
"And besides. I couldn't help you even if I wanted to." Daxter's blood ran cold.  
  
"WHAT!" He screamed, exasperated.  
  
"There's only one person who may have a chance to returning you to your previous form." Samos explained, floating up into the air again. "Gol Akaron, the sage. But he lives to the north. Far, far to the north. No one has heard from him for quite some time."  
  
Daxter's heart was sinking lower and lower. NOW how was he going to be changed back? Was he going to stay a furry creature forever? He shakily climbed up onto Jak's back as Samos indicated to the blurry gate above them.  
  
"I'd teleport you there." Samos continued. "But I can't do that either. None of the other sages have seen fit to turn their gates on for quite a while." He shook his head. "The only other way is through the fire canyon, but its temperatures are hot enough to heat precursor metal. You can't walk through it."  
  
"But you COULD fly OVER it!" A voice called out from the doorway. The three turned around to spot Keira, Samos's daughter, resting on the doorframe of the hut. "If you had a Zoomer equipped with a heat shield." She continued, examining her nails. Daxter shook his head as he caught sight of her. 'Man she is SMOKING!' he gasped.  
  
"I just happen to be working on one at this VERY moment!" Keira turned her attention away from her nails and walked towards the group. Daxter saw this as his opportunity and jumped off of Jak's shoulders, just beside Keira, striking a heroic pose to catch her attention. Well, he THOUGHT it would catch her attention, instead she walked straight past. His face fell as she passed him by. Thinking that she may have just missed him because he was slightly smaller than before, Daxter turned and posed again as Keira continued to talk about the Zoomer, and how it required power cells. Daxter gave up. Maybe he should be trying to impress her with his witty repartee rather than his amazing build?  
  
"Yes, Keira. I SUPPOSE that could work." Samos pondered. "But where are a boy, and a HALF going to find 20 power cells?" At the word 'half', Samos smashed his stick on top of little Daxter's head, to indicate exactly how he felt towards the boy-turned-ottsel.  
  
"From the villagers!" Keira insisted, and she began to explain her plan to the group. Daxter, however, was busy nursing his bruised head. He looked up just in time to see Keira leaning towards Jak in a slight flirtatious manner. She mentioned something about a 'brave adventurer', and Daxter saw this as a way to gain her approval.  
  
"Well, we've got the BRAVE adventurer at least!" He proclaimed proudly, sticking out his chest and trying to look manly, but this is a hard effect to achieve when one no longer looks humanoid at all.  
  
"Brave adventurer?" Samos echoed, looking shocked. "You two couldn't find your way out of the VILLAGE!" Daxter pouted. If that was the case, then how did Jak manage to get them all the way over to Misty Island? "Before you do ANYTHING else, you'd better go through the warp gate and get some practice on Geyser Rock."  
  
Now was Daxter's turn to tease. He was starting to get used to dealing with his new body, and was now ready to start dealing out his jokes again. "Uh, we won't find any more of that GOOEY dark eco stuff in there will we? Because I'd HATE to fall in again and turn into YOU!" Daxter cocked an eyebrow at the sage as he clenched his furry fists.  
  
"GET IN THERE!" The sage spat, obviously NOT in the mood for Daxter's attitude. "Before I turn you BOTH into FERNS!" He threatened.  
  
Jak glanced down at his little buddy. He didn't know about Daxter, but HE defiantly didn't want to be a form of the flora species. He took a flying leap towards the warp gate, and in an instant, disappeared.  
  
Daxter stared up at the swirling blue gate. Now what? If he didn't go with Jak, he could spend the rest of his life looking like a furry critter that some rich woman would want to wear dead around her neck. Daxter shuddered at the thought, and the fur on the back of his neck stood on end. 'Now THERE'S an odd sensation.' He thought. Well, there was no point hanging about here. If he wanted to get out of his fur coat, he'd have to follow suit. Preparing for impact, Daxter took a big jump, and fell into the warp gate. Ready to face whatever stood between him and his chances of becoming a boy again.  
  
***  
  
Hmm. Good? Bad? I need your reviews so I know. Hope you all liked, I'll get back to my other fic now. Laters!  
  
~Keysha 


End file.
